Friend and fellow artist, Michelle Hoting and I kicked off the holiday season with a festive holiday celebration and art show at my studio in Dry Creek Valley, Healdsburg, California. Join me for the next one by signing up for my monthly newsletter which features new art, good news, and public and private events.

​Sonoma County Art Trails open studio tour continues this weekend, October 20-21 2018 from 10am to 5pm. For those who came last weekend, thank you for a wonderful time -- it looks like this weekend will be just as fun! We're looking at gorgeous weather, stimulating art, and scintillating conversation. Here's what else you can expect:

Learn about my creative process while meeting my 40 animal portraits. Enjoy pleasant refreshments while perusing my growing collection of thought-provoking portraits of self and society. If you feel inspired, create your own animal portrait at my coloring station, and definitely sign up for a chance to win one of my giclee prints in a drawing.

As a reminder,after this weekend I will return to hosting studio visits year-round by appointment. I hope you'll come by and enjoy!

The Center for Contemporary Political Art in Washington, DC is presenting Defining the Art of Change in the Age of Trump, featuring my painting, America: She Was Asking For It.

From the organizers, "The exhibition features artwork by America's artists as powerful as the times are dangerous, to help Americans understand what's at stake -- and why it's their duty to vote -- in the November 2018 mid-term elections."

September 30- November 14*Opening reception on September 30th, Noon - 6pm

Artist's Statement

Created in response to the 2016 presidential election, America: She Was Asking For It, was born from a nightmare and depicts a revealing portrait of not only America’s elected Head of State but also his wife and Vice President and Mrs. Pence.

A variety of symbols evoke both an immediate visceral reaction, such as the confederate flag, as well as an ongoing discovery of depravity represented as small painted details, such as the pins, that reveal contractions and hypocrisy.

I utilized the bright coloring effects of gouache to capture the flashy tone of media imagery and intentionally made the work small to emphasize the insufficient attention and transitory coverage given to these issues by the media.​The piece is floated atop an abyss-like, black velvet, to create an effect like that of a digital screen, and finally encased in a tarnished frame, as if it is a dangerous artifact, warning of possible future outcomes.

I'm eager to present my newly painted animal portraits. Although this series has always focused on individuality, in previous years the works have thematically centered around locations, such as Sonoma County or the Arctic. This year is a little different because I focused on female identity as I developed three portraits of North American animals - Bald Eagle, Mountain Lion, and Black Bear.

When human women are depicted as strong it is almost always along with sex appeal - the "strong and sexy” cliche - as if female strength and capability are synonymous with sex appeal. The bald eagle, mountain lion, and black bear are all seen as strong animals, at the top of the food chain. When we encounter one we don’t automatically make assumptions about the animal based on its gender. We appreciate their strength, beauty, power and ferocity.

We marvel at the amazingness of both female and male animals, never questioning their abilities, motives, or intelligence based on gender. So why do we tolerate and accept the gender limitations we impose upon ourselves as humans? By anthropomorphizing these female animals, and giving each a unique identity, I seek to question why our society often struggles to present strength, intelligence and beauty without sexual undertones.

Male dominance in western art, and in particular portraiture, has been a critical element in denying women ownership over our own identity. It also has caused some of the most significant crimes and injustices against women to be ignored, dismissed, or worse glossed over as something entirely different. Sober Jockey confronts this head-on by singling out and reinterpreting Henri Fuseli's,The Nightmare from a female perspective. In doing so it directly confronts issues of violence towards women and the shock, trauma, stress, depression and haunting that so often comes with it. A scene which for so long has been presented and interpreted as a “Nightmare” is now shown to be a reality for the protagonist, as it is of course for so many millions of women.

Sober Jockey will be exhibiting, as part of Art in an Age of Anxiety, at the Arts Guild of Sonoma in Sonoma, California between August 30th through October 1st, 2018. Opening reception Saturday, September 1st, 2018. See Details Here.

Art in an Age of AnxietyAugust 30 - October 1, 2018*Opening reception Saturday, September 1st 5:00pm-7:30pm

I'm honored to be included in Persistence, an exhibition at the Museum of Northern California Art celebrating and recognizing women artists. "Persistence" has become a byword for women standing up and I'm passionate about promoting the work of female artists past, present, and future. This was my kind of exhibition.

Jamie L. Luoto with her works "Sami Reindeer" and "Sami American"

Outide of MONCA

View into one of the exhibition rooms

Opening Reception for "Persistence" at the Museum of Northern California Art